2018考研英语阅读：关于“先生”你应知道的4件事儿

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　　Culture Insider: Four things you may not know about teachers in ancient China

　　长大后我就成了你：关于“先生”你应该知道的4件事儿!

　　导读：一年一度的9·10教师节来了，想好怎么致敬我们默默无闻的老师了吗?下面，一起来了解一下教师节。

　　We all know of China’s long history. It’s a history that dates back as early as 1200 BC. A major part of China’s history is its education.

　　我们都听说过中国的悠久历史。其历史可追溯至公元前1200年前。中国历史的一个重要部分是其教育。

　　School education in China has a long history. In the spring and autumn periods (770 BC – 476 BC), private schools prevailed. Many scholars of different schools of thought began spreading their knowledge through various ways of teaching.

　　中国的学校教育有着一段悠久的历史。春秋战国时期(公元前770——476年)，私立学校盛行。很多不同思想学派的学者通过各种教学方式传播他们的知识。

　　Kongzi, or Confucius, the great educator, devoted his life to the private school system. He would go on to hold a legacy as one of the great educators in China. Not only him, but all teachers in China were highly respected by society.

　　伟大的教育家孔子将他的一生奉献给了私立学校体系。他是中国最为伟大的教育家之一。不只是他，中国所有的老师都受到了社会的高度尊重。

　　Today China honours teachers by dedicating a special day for them. For the past 33 years, 10 September is Teachers’ Day in China. It’s a day for people to show their respect and gratitude to teachers for their hard work and contributions to society.

　　现在，中国通过为老师设立一个特殊的节日以示尊重他们。在过去的33年，9月10日是中国的教师节。在这一天，人们会就老师的辛勤工作和对社会的贡献向他们致以敬意。

　　Here are four things you should know about teachers in ancient China.

　　这里是你关于古代中国老师你应该了解的四件事情。

　　1. Teachers’ Day

　　1、教师节

　　Long before there was a Teachers’ Day, disciples (students) honoured their teacher’s birthday with a simple but solemn ceremony during Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC – 771 BC). The Chinese showed their appreciation for teachers by performing a series of special salutes.

　　在教师节成立很久以前，西周(公元前1046——771年)的学生会用一种简单但又庄严的仪式纪念他们老师的生日。中国人通过一系列特殊的敬礼向老师表达他们的感激之情。

　　Since Western Han Dynasty (202 BC – 8 AD), more and more emperors used 27 August in the traditional Chinese calendar to worship Confucius as this day is his birthday. They also used this day to entertain teachers in Taixue (Imperial College).

　　自西汉(公元前202——公元8年)后，越来越多的皇帝利用中国旧历8月27日致敬孔子，因为这一天是他的日子。他们还在太学里利用这一天取悦老师。

　　In Tang Dynasty (618 – 907), Confucius Memorial Ceremony was held on Confucius’ birthday in the capital of the country as well as the capital of each province. Teachers who were chosen by governments at all levels got a bonus from the central government. The custom carried on until Qing Dynasty (1636 – 1912), and that day was regarded as Teacher’s Day.

　　在唐代(618——907年)，首都和各省会都会在孔子生日这一天举行孔子纪念仪式。由各级政府挑选的老师会从中央政府那里拿到一笔奖金。这一传统一直持续到清朝(1636——1912年)，这一天被视为教师节。

　　2. Teachers’ payment

　　2、老师的收入

　　In ancient China, teachers’ payment is a bunch of dried meat. That’s because meat was a luxury at that time. Only aged people in ordinary families or rich people were fortunate enough to eat meat. People sent teachers dried meat to show their respects when private schools first emerged.

　　在古代中国，老师的收入是一捆肉干。那是因为当时肉是奢侈品。只有普通家庭中的老人或富人才有幸吃到肉。在私立学校刚刚出现那会，人们会给老师送肉干，以示他们的尊重。

　　Normally, a teacher’s payment includes salary, accommodation and festival gifts. There was no fixed tuition fee; generally the parents paid teachers according to their household income. Both money and basic foodstuff could be paid in exchange for tuition.

　　一般而言，一位老师的收入包括工资、住宿和节日礼物。没有固定的学费;一般父母会根据他们的家庭收入给老师钱。钱和基本的食物可以用来交换学费。

　　Masters of family-run private schools also sent teachers extra money or extra gifts on three festivals and two birthdays. The three festivals include the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Day and the Spring Festival, while the two birthdays include Confucius’ birthday as well as the teacher’s birthday.

　　家庭经营私立学校的主人还会在三个节日和两个生日期间给老师送钱或礼物。三个节日包括端午节、中秋节和春节，两个生日包括孔子的生日和老师的生日。

　　3. Apprentice to a teacher

　　3、拜师

　　In ancient China, children began school between the ages of four to seven. Since there was no scheduled time to begin a new term in ancient China, the most important thing for parents was to choose a prestigious teacher or a creditable school.

　　在古代中国，孩子在四至七岁时上学。由于当时没有固定的开学时间，父母最重要的事情是选择一位有名的老师或声誉好的学校。

　　The teachers were usually very educated locals. Parents would prepare many gifts and rewards for them. They would also write letters of invitation asking the educated person to be their children’s teacher.

　　老师往往是受过良好教育的当地人。父母会为他们准备很多礼物和奖金。他们还会写信邀请受过教育的人做他们孩子的老师。

　　If the teacher agreed, parents chose an auspicious day for their child to enter school, and prepared some school supplies, which included desks, chairs, and four treasures of the study (writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper).

　　如果老师同意，父母就会选择一个黄道吉日让他们的孩子入学，同时准备一些学校日常用品，包括桌子、椅子和文房四宝(笔墨纸砚)。

　　4. The first writing ceremony

　　4、开笔礼

　　On entrance day, parents would take their children to attend the first writing ceremony. Before that, children would kneel on the ground to kowtow for the statue of Confucius nine times, and kowtow for their teacher three times.

　　入学那天，父母会带他们的孩子参加首个开笔礼。在此之前，孩子们会向孔子的雕像跪地磕头九次，并向他们的老师磕头三次。

　　The first writing ceremony, also called Qi Meng (enlightenment) ceremony, was a very important ceremony for every student before they were admitted to their school. During the ceremony, the teacher would put a red dot on the child’s forehead representing the opening of wisdom’s eye.

　　开笔礼，也称“启蒙仪式”，是每一名学生入学前十分重要的仪式。仪式期间，老师会在孩子的额头上打个红点，代表开启智慧之眼。